Thank you so much! AND… We must continue!

My dear siblings in compassion,

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you to all who 'virtually' attended the Global Gala 2022: Architects of Justice.

We loved listening to powerful music by Yael Deckelbaum and the Mothers, Pato Banton, Nimo Patel and Shivani Ray, Holly Near, Elizaveta Izmalkova, Aliza Hava, Fabrice Nkurunziza, Camerata Romeu, Shades of Yale, Leyla Gbowee, Rana Singer, Lubna Salame, Miriam Toukan, and Cody Layton.

We had incredible presenters in Rick Hanson, Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, Kasha Slavner, Tracy Kidder, Raffi Cavoukian, and Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu, speaking from their hearts about their views on compassion, and the special awardees we were so pleased to honor this year: Mary Robinson, Deogratias Niyizonkiza, Riane Eisler, and United World Colleges. Their work gives us much to be grateful for and inspired by, as they virtually accepted their awards.

Thank you to all the other wonderful contributors who congratulated the awardees; Jennifer Nadel, Colum McCann, Sharon McKenna, Cathryn Christensen, Lucia Ortega Toledo and Daniel Glick, as well as our Board of Trustees; Cristina González, Chair; Laura Burgis, Vice-chair; Yaffa Maritz, Secretary; Gard Jameson, Treasurer; and Charles Barker, Chair of Internal Affairs.

And of course our dear staff family: Marilyn Turkovich, Executive Director and mastermind producer; Lynn De Vree, Gala Coordinator and master caller and requester; Natalia Zurita, mastermind behind the Global Gala Gallery; Mérida McCarthy, reaching out to all our Charter family from partners to compassionate cities and everyone in between; Susan Soleil, Development Director, helping with all the relations with our Board and partners; and Shane O'Connor, Education & GoldenRuleism Coordinator, with his wonderful speech introducing Mary Robinson's segment.

I feel privileged to work with such a committed group of people. Being the Master of Ceremonies for the Gala was the cherry topping months of arduous work to create a program that left us inspired and excited to do more.

We have received lots of congratulatory messages, thank you for taking the time to formulate and send us your thoughts. Here are some comments from people that watched the gala:

"How marvelous to see all these wondrous women being showcased. The music is so wonderful and uplifting"

"An amazing evening , Great achievement which I know took lots of Planning and discernment and produced a stellar program ! I got many texts that praised it like: The music at the Gala was amazing! My heart is full and my tears are streaming. Thank you for including me in this amazing experience!❤️"

"What a moving program this Global Charter for Compassion is presenting. Deo is amazing! Thanks for all you are contributing to the world and all of us whose life you touch💕🥰🙏"

"Great Gala and wonderful recipients of this year's awards. Conoly and I enjoyed the evening session. And I especially loved the Mothers' performances. Our check is in the mail."

"My watch party was amazing! [We] were awed by the honorees, some they already knew, and others they were grateful to hear about."

"You all are doing amazing work!"

THANK YOU! 😊

Even though the Gala has already been broadcast, you can still watch, or rewatch, the entire show! Since it's our main fundraiser of the year, we are asking for a donation to get access to the program. Please, help the Charter continue its work with your donation!

The Global Gala Gallery is open until December 31. Find art pieces from incredible artists around the world for purchase. Half of the earnings go to the artist, the other half is for the Charter. A very special thanks to ZaHaVa Sherez, our Gallery featured artist, whose incredible InBodiedLight sculpture series is available for purchase, and who generously allowed us to use her work for our Gala 2022.

As I mentioned at the end of our Gala, we are so excited to host this event LIVE and IN PERSON at the Parliament of World's Religions in Chicago next August! Click here for tickets for the POWR.

The Charter is rooted in the Golden Rule: "Treat Others as You Want to be Treated." This is the most basic principle of humanity, found in sacred as well as secular texts, in many religions, spiritual practices, and civilizations. It is reciprocity at its most essential, and a joy to practice and spread, as we see how people feel and act when all of us are treated with dignity, care, concern, and love. We can do so much for ourselves and our communities. Compassion is the answer. Compassion is the tool. Compassion can change the tragic narrative we seem unable to escape in politics, social issues, and the environment.

Practicing the Golden Rule increases our compassion within, and spreads it like a warm wave that washes over us. I promise you that.

Hope we get to chat soon, either online, or in person next August. Let's continue practicing compassion and go beyond acknowledgment of others' pain by taking action to end their suffering as well.

With love,

Felipe 

This message from Felipe Zurita, Marketing and Social Media Director of the Charter for Compassion, appears in our 11/19/2022 weekly newsletter. To sign up for our newsletter, scroll all the way down to the end of this page to get to the bottom menu; in the newsletter section, enter your email address and click on subscribe.